This December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. Check back daily (until 24 December) for new stories focusing on how individuals and communities are going above and beyond to help others in their times of need. Social Bite’s 2025 Festival of Kindness, which hopes to provide 300,000 meals, gifts, and essential items to homeless people and those in need, will last from December 23-25. They’ll open their doors in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. “Everyone who attends will also receive a meaningful gift and a pack of essential items such as thermal layers, socks, gloves, a power bank, a chocolate selection box and a gift voucher,” Amy Brewer, communications manager at Social Bite, told us. “We also work with charities up and down the country to provide them with Christmas dinners or ingredients packs to serve festival meals to the people they support, as well as gifts and essentials that they’ve requested. This may include clothes for babies and children, and books.” Social Bite Demand has risen Social Bit’s Festival of Kindness highlighted how high the cost of living has become, as well as how extreme the housing crisis is. Brewer said they’ve noticed the fallout from that in recent years. “In 2021, we had an average of 40 people at our Christmas Day free food service. Last year, 300 people presented at one of our shops,” she said. “As well as the cost of living crisis, many people find themselves living in sub-standard accommodation. They may not have any cooking facilities, or the available facilities are restricted or inadequate for preparing and enjoying food.” Jim, however, attends Social Bite’s Christmas event every year. “My first experience of Social Bite was a place where, unknown to me, you could have a hot drink and some food, a chat, and everybody is treated equally. It was different from everyday life,” he said. ″Nowadays, you are judged by how you look, how you speak, the clothes you wear. People avoid contact and comment to each other, make assumptions when they don’t know how your situation has happened. “Social Bite has no airs or graces, people offer favours, help and kindness without expecting any return. You meet people from all walks of life, pensioners, addicts, different nationalities, and Christmas time is special, as it’s full of fun, enjoyment, happiness.” For N., who also attends yearly, “Christmas is a time where everyone is getting presents. Receiving gifts from Social Bite at Christmas, it feels like getting gifts from my family. “My own family are far away, but when I come to Social Bite it feels like home. It’s my first home on coming to Glasgow. Social Bite is part of my family. It means so much to me.” Social Bite “Sharing meals builds trust” One of Social Bite’s charity partners in Hastings said that meals are about much more than food. Eating together “builds trust – people feel safe, open up, and begin to share their stories,” they said. One of their guests, for instance, regularly came to them for breakfast, “and over those meals, staff learned he had been placed in an unsuitable home and was at risk of exploitation. “Because the daily meals kept him coming back to a place of safety and community, we could step in. We contacted adult social services and, together, created a safety plan and helped him turn his house into a home. “Today, he says what started with free food helped him rebuild his life and gave him a sense of purpose.” Brewer stressed the importance of sharing compassion and empathy with everyone. “With the number of people sleeping rough and affected by homelessness continuing to rise, kindness has become a vital lifeline for people in need - whether that’s a smile and a hello to reduce social isolation, or donating towards our Festival of Kindness campaign. “We hear from the people who receive the public’s kind gifts and donations about how much of a difference it makes to them. The Festival of Kindness has become something the people we support not only look forward to, but rely on for the things so many of us take for granted. “The kindness of strangers can truly make a difference.” If you like, you can donate to Social Bite here . Got a kindness story to share? Please email uklife@huffpost.com with more information. Related... 10 'Small' Moments Of Kindness That Can Turn Someone's Day Around 'Our Simple Call For Toys Started An Unexpected Wave Of Kindness' One Woman's Broken Boiler Inspired 105,000 Small Acts Of Kindness